Get Sandra Back on a Mountain Bike

On Saturday, July 16, our dear friend Sandra had an accident doing something she loves: mountain biking. 

As her sister Lynn tells the story, Sandra was leading the pack and got ahead of Lynn.  When she caught up to Sandra, Lynn found her thrown a few feet from her bike, unconscious.  She had likely hit a literal bump in the road, and when her bike landed funny she was thrown, sliding on her hands and face.

Within 5 minutes Sandra came to, in intense pain. Lynn and friend Lorilee were by her side, but they were 3 miles into the woods.  And while it took another 90 minutes for the local EMT team to get to them, over that period of time Sandra was not without help and support. 3 different hiking groups happened upon Sandra, each amazingly with at least one nurse or EMT in the bunch.  And each offered some amazing level of help to Sandra and Lynn/Lorilee.

With thunder storms rolling into the area the local EMT team eliminated life flighting her off of the mountain. Instead they showed up in force with two four wheelers, 8 EMT's, 2 DNR Rangers and 2 other ATVs.  Sandra was strapped to a stretcher and onto the back of one of the four wheelers, transported down the mountain and to a local hospital. Based on their assessment of Sandra's injuries, the decision was made to transport her to Erlanger Baroness Hospital's trauma center in Chattanooga, 90 minutes away.  


At Erlanger, they determined that Sandra sustained several injuries including a broken jaw, liver laceration, broken finger and dislocated finger. Thankfully no head injuries or other internal injuries. Her doctors made the decision to operate to repair her jaw and her broken finger at the same time.  


I'm happy to report that Sandra has come out of surgery this afternoon (Monday, July 18), and is doing great.  Her release date is tbd at this point, though as you probably have guessed Sandra is impatient to get out of the hospital and back home, especially to see Finn and Linus.  


As you can imagine, getting Sandra back on a bike (or walking Finn and Linus, or whatever activity reminds you most of Sandra, there are a lot!) is a pricey proposition.  Sandra has major medical insurance but with a steep deductible.

My ask, and the reason for this Go Fund Me: we've all been the recipient of Sandra's unique brand of kindness and selflessness.  Please consider helping her out in a time of need; let's help ease the pain of this accident by helping relieve Sandra of the worry over paying her medical bills.